2014 Preview: LA's Most Anticipated Openings

By Lesley Balla | January 2, 2014By Lesley Balla | January 2, 2014

Photo by: Herringbone

Every new year seems to be even more exciting on the Los Angeles drink and culinary scene, but 2014 really is shaping up to be pretty mouthwatering. New celebrity chef restaurants are slated to open in Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and beyond; huge cocktail happenings will showcase the best of the best in LA; and hip hotel dining rooms from Roy Choi, Brian Malarkey and Gary Menes, and so much more are on the horizon. Here's a snapshot of what to expect for 2014 and beyond.

Roy Choi’s new POT restaurant will open any day now at The Line Hotel in Koreatown. Choi, who is overseeing all food and beverage at the new hotel, has been working on the menu in his test kitchen, but look for hot pots, blood soups and Korean BBQ as only Papi can do. The Line Hotel opens in January. Also in Koreatown, Gary Menes lands his Le Comptoir pop-up at the renovated Normandie Hotel this spring. The small eight-person counter will open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday.

Downtown’s new Ace Hotel opens on January 6, with a big concert in the building's historic theater on February 14, but the restaurant, which is still unconfirmed but said to be from Brooklyn’s Five Leaves restaurateurs, will debut sometime in between.

Boston’s Michael Schlow has changed the menu and concept for the Sunset Marquis restaurant in West Hollywood. Now named Cavatina, it features local, seasonal cuisine kissed with Mediterranean flavors that fit the lush surroundings of the hidden gem. Look for an opening in early January.

The Italian-focused Terraza will debut in the former Veranda space at Casa del Mar in February, with a floor-to-ceiling redesign and same ocean views. And the Ritz-Carlton Marina del Rey’s Jer-Ne is getting overhauled to become Cast & Plow.

The Future of Sriracha

What's going to happen to one the most beloved condiments out there right now? Not only did the city of Irwindale demand that Huy Fong Foods stop making sriracha because the fumes from the chile sauce reportedly caused health issues for local residents, but now the company is restricted from shipping any bottles out until January, according to the California Department of Health. That just means one thing: stock up! Not that there’s a shortage now, but there may be down the line.

TV Chefs

Curtis Stone plants roots in Beverly Hills with Maude, an intimate restaurant that’s named for his grandmother and serves hyper-seasonal tasting menus that switch out every month.

And Brian Malarkey from Top Chef and season 1 of The Taste - he’s no longer on the show even though his chef won - will debut Herringbone at the Mondrian in the first half of January. Here’s a look at the new design of the former Asia de Cuba space.

Photo by: Honeycut

Cocktail Culture

The inaugural Golden State of Cocktails four-day festival and conference will spotlight not only our local cocktail scene, but also lure visitors and aficionados with themed seminars, interactive demos, bar crawls and a grand finale soiree. Takes place on January 27-30.

Photo by: The Dudes Brewing Co.

The Burgeoning Beer Scene

The beer scene is in high gear for 2014. Eagle Rock Brewery's Ting Su and Jeremy Raub will open a restaurant and tasting room in the former Fatty’s location in Eagle Rock. The Eagle Rock Brewery Public House is slated to open this spring.

The quickly growing Dudes Brewing Co. will open a taproom in Torrance this year, and there are now cans of Grandma’s Pecan and Double Trunk double IPA around local bars and retailers.

Also look for tasting rooms from Brouwerij West, a South Bay operation known for Belgian-style ales, in San Pedro later this year; Ohana Brewing Co. in Alhambra; and Highland Park Brewery, from former Craftsman Brewing Co. brewer Bob Kunz, opening inside The Hermosillo on York Boulevard soon.

Photo by: Belcampo Meat Co.

Grand Central Market Overhaul

This historic landmark continues morphing into a serious open-air marketplace with Brad Kent's Olio Pizzeria on the horizon, Micah Wexler’s Wexler's Deli, and the shiny new Belcampo Meat Co. counter. Look for another Belcampo outpost in Santa Monica, opening sometime in 2014 too.

Photo by: Roadhouse LA

Still Waiting

Some exciting projects were all tentatively opening in 2013, but all were pushed. So we're still waiting on the Umami Group and chef Robbie Richter's barbecue concept, Roadhouse, to open at the Improv on Melrose. Kris Yenbamroong's Night + Market Song, an intimate, standalone outpost for Silver Lake, is due in January or February. And the Helms Bakery project from pastry goddess Sherry Yard and chef Sang Yoon will probably see the light of day in spring or early summer.

Photo by: Plan Check

More Growth Downtown

After the Santa Monica debut in January, 800 Degrees Pizzeria will open on Wilshire Boulevard in the summer. In other empire-building news, Tender Greens will open in the PacMutual building, and Bigmista's BBQ, along with other restaurants, will debut at the Medallion Lofts. Plan Check just opened its second location on Fairfax, but will be heading downtown, with both opening in Downtown LA this spring. And speaking of spring, Church & State's Yassmin Sarmadi and chef Tony Esnault will finally open Spring, a foliage-filled dining room in the atrium at the historic Douglas Building on Spring and Third streets, by late spring.

Photo by: Paul Hibler

Collaborations

A bunch of local chefs and restaurateurs are teaming up to open new projects in 2014. Paul Hibler, the power player behind the growing Pitfire Artisan Pizza chainlet, has already opened Superba Snack Bar with chef Jason Neroni, and now the two will open Superba Food & Bread, a new bakery, any day now. Hibler and Neroni are also working with John Cao and Chloe Tran, the owner and chef of East Borough, a new Vietnamese spot set to debut in Culver City this month.

Another big collab is with The Spice Table's Bryant and Kim Ng, and Josh Loeb and Zoe Nathan from Rustic Canyon, Milo & Olive, Sweet Rose Creamery and Huckleberry. The new Santa Monica restaurant will feature a contemporary California menu with Southeast Asian flavors, with Bryant at the helm and Nathan doing desserts and pastries. The restaurant will have a full bar for cocktails too.